BlacKkKlansman Is The Best Spike Lee Film In Years

      

      The fall of 2018 has arrived with what appears to be the first wave of award season movie contenders such as A Star Is Born with Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, and Neil Armstrong's biography First Man with Ryan Gosling. Along with those films comes BlacKkKlansman, another controversial yet well-crafted biographical crime drama directed by Spike Lee. The story is based around true events centering around an African American police officer from Colorado Springs named Ron Stallworth, who successfully managed to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan headquarters with the help of his Jewish partner and surrogate, eventually becoming its leader undercover. Based on true events, Spike Lee chose to bring a story to the big screen, carrying with it emotional weight and power with themes that are relevant with today's political climate as the film draws strong parallels between the past and present. BlacKkKlansman has Spike Lee doing what he does best, which is presenting stories that dive into societal issues in today's world, often ones that affect minorities and display racism in society. Here with this story, he services the film to deliver direct parallels from past events to present day situations while delivering what's hands down his strongest work in decades

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      BlacKkKlansman is not just one of the best movies of the year, it's a well-executed story that's brilliantly acted and directed with great doses of energy in telling its story. It helps that the concept of the story is unique and not one that most of the audience is familiar with. The film delivers an exceptional study of both cultural and institutional racism in America, while providing hope of change because as the film showcases at one point, as strange as the scenario was, it actually happened. Lee takes you on a trip through the 70's era in a way that's both highly entertaining and often hilarious, while becoming serious when needed regarding the issue of race in America. Director Spike Lee has a flair for making films that are rich in performances, satirical in tone, stylish in directing, and entertaining as hell while incorporating elements and themes that make the audience ponder over the topics presented long after the film is over. The film tackles themes such as slavery, integration, ethnic cleansing, black exploitation, and anti-semitism with the overall message of the film saying that horrible things have been done in the name of preserving an America that's all white with the film stating the obvious that the KKK and white supremacists are very dangerous. Spike Lee also makes it a point to state that racism can find itself sneaking into basic mainstream ideologies, while being buried under the layers with social issues such as crime, immigration, and tax policy. As was the case with films such as Do The Right Thing, Malcom X, Get On The Bus, and Inside Man, Lee is unapologetic in delivering his case of racism in his films, but here he balances out the two different sides of the coin in regards to the issue while making strong cases for his arguments.

      On an acting and technical note, BlacKkKlansman has a strong cast that delivers terrific performances and bring these real-life figures to the big screen while making them complex. As far as performances go, John David Washington, son of legendary actor Denzel Washington ends up delivering a strong performance as Ron Stallworth, demonstrating that he has the range to command a film like his father on a dramatic scale while being more on the comical side. Adam Driver delivers what's easily his strongest performance yet as Stallworth's partner, who successfully infiltrates the KKK while Stallworth gets the attention of it's leader David Duke over the phone. Topher Grace does a solid job playing the infamous leader of the Klan, showing both his misguided influence over the branch as well as his arrogance as he's not able to figure out that the person he's been engaging with on the other side of the phone is a black man. Laura Harrier does a solid job playing Patrice Dumes, Ron's love interest with notable supporting roles from Robert John Burke as police Chief Bridges and Alec Baldwin as a segregationist in the films opening scene. Virtually the entire cast does a terrific job of bringing realism to their parts and helping sell what comes off as an outrageous scenario to the audience with the twist being it's not fiction, it's real life. On a technical note, the films cinematography is top notch, giving the film a satire feel with the costume design and art-set decoration further driving home the 70's feel of the story. The films acting and technical aspect all blend well to help enrich the films storytelling. The film flows at a steady pace, allowing enough time to develop the plot and characters without ever feeling it overstayed it's welcome.

       As a piece of filmmaking, BlacKkKlansman is a beautiful mixture of biography and crime mixing with political drama meshing together to create a film, that's not only extremely entertaining but has something to say about racism in today's culture. Spike Lee gives the film a sense of style, humor, and conviction in telling the story presented here while making a final case of the parallels in the films closing moments. Lee makes a stunning parallel between the racism depicted in the 70's and the resurgence of racial hatred in today's climate. While it can be said that Spike Lee most likely stretched out elements of this story for dramatic purposes, he does a sure fine job of making this film highly entertaining while miraculously not dividing audiences with his approach to the story and incorporation of political themes. Even if those don't necessarily agree with the points that Spike Lee makes with the story, there's much to enjoy with the film on an entertainment level. It's entertaining, it's provocative, it's funny, it's moving, and has something to say about the issue of race in America. For John David Washington, his performance is quite impressive and shows that he has a future in the industry as an actor, and can stand on his own apart from his dads legacy of being a terrific actor. For Spike Lee, this is easily his best film in decades with a strong chance of gaining some Oscar recognition. BlacKkKlansman is one of the most surprising films of the year, that entertains it's audience but also makes valid points regards to the theme of racism. For some it might be a little heavy on the political side, for others it's an unusual gem for a biography and crime drama, that manages to be totally worthwhile as a piece of entertainment while making it's audience alarmed to the issues surrounding today's society. For director Spike Lee, BlacKkKlansman is a triumph and masterful piece of entertainment that can dazzle as well as inform it's audience.

                                                                                                            Final Verdict: SEE IT

Crazy Rich Asians Is A Sweet Romantic Comedy That Entertains While Breaking Cultural Barriers

      

      The summer of 2018 brought many blockbusters that came and went with most consisting of being comic book sequels such as Marvel's Infinity War, Deadpool ll, Ant-Man And The Wasp along with other blockbuster much anticipated sequels such as Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom, and Incredibles ll. However with all the major blockbusters that came out in the first two thirds of the summer, the real story was both the critical and box office success of a romantic comedy that ended up being the first Asian-led, major Hollywood studio to hit theaters since 1993's The Joy Luck Club, while also becoming the biggest romantic comedy in six years. Based on the adaptation of the book with the same title written by Kevin Kwan, Crazy Rich Asians is a contemporary romantic comedy, that focuses on a native New York economics professor named Rachel Chu, who travels to meet her boyfriends family and becomes shocked upon the realization they are among the richest people in Singapore. As of the writing of this review, the film has grossed over a total of $236 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing romantic comedy in over a decade. For those who haven't seen the film yet, the question still begs of whether the movie was any good on it's own excluding the hype and box office success that made it one of the great success stories of 2018. To put it in blatant terms, the answer to that question that's on those moviegoers minds is an enthusiastic yes.

      Crazy Rich Asians is a charming, sweet, and entertaining romantic comedy that takes what's essentially become a generic formula with romantic comedies, and manages to place its own stamp on the genre while being heartfelt and monumental with doing so. Bringing the film from book to the big screen was always a risky move with the inclusion of an all-Asian cast not having been done before on the big screen in the last 25 years. Watching the film, one always gets the feeling that the movie was destined to become a hit not just because of it's cultural breakthrough in the genre with it's cast, but how it manages to hit all the right notes for a romantic comedy that would make for a surefire hit it with audiences. The film doesn't attempt to take itself more seriously than just being great fun for it's target audience while poking fun at some of the classic stereotypes that are associated with Asian culture. The film tackles themes such as racism, extreme wealth, traditions, expectations placed upon those within Asian families, pursuing ones happiness, pursuing one's passion, royalty, sacrifice, love, respect, and knowing one's place. The ultimate message that the film delivers by it's end is that wealth does not make happiness, love does. The film explores and delivers all of these themes in a fashion that doesn't take itself too seriously, but always remains heartfelt upon doing so. The film borrows all the classic formulaic elements from the romantic comedy genre while taking a bold step forward in regards to representation of Asian culture on film.

      As far as acting and performances go, Constance Wu delivers a strong and likeable performance as Rachel Chu with Henry Golding performing equally well, making the young romantic couple totally believable, convincing, and engaging to where the audience wants to follow their fun-filled journey and inevitably see them together at the end of the film. Gemma Chan and Harry Shum Jr. deliver strong supporting performances, but the one true standout of the film is Michelle Yeoh, who plays the main character Nick's disapproving mother taking aim at his relationship before ultimately warming up to the idea by the films end. The romance presented in the film comes with it's complications with Rachel being on Nick's arm raising hostilities towards them with jealous friends and socialities along with Nick's mother participating in the resistance. The script written by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim, is a strong one for the genre as it allows for the audience to take delight on the situations happening on the big screen with them also thinking about it from a cultural standpoint. The writers mix old school styles and formulas that go with romantic comedies while incorporating serious topics into the script such as societal boundaries. Director Jon M. Chu directs the film in a style that makes it feel both like a musical as well as being a classic black and white romantic film, that comes with much visual flair to it. The cinematography, art-set decoration, and costume designs are top notch with the film fully embracing the culture of the characters it represents while showing the audience the richness of the story.

 It can be said that Crazy Rich Asians is not your typical romantic comedy. The film deliberately separates itself from the other romantic comedies and comes at the audience with a new approach while tackling important issues such as growing up while giving perspective such as what it's like to grow up in Asian culture and the expectations, that are placed on the children of the families while growing up. The film is a simple yet charming tale about love that not only entertains and charm the pants off its audience, but also manages to leave an impact on it's audience while breaking new ground for the genre. While it can be argued that the storyline for Crazy Rich Asians is rather generic for a romantic comedy and reasoning behind the films success is because of it being the first Asian led Hollywood production since The Joy Luck Club, one can also say that it's also the movies heart and approach to it's story while maintaining absolute respectability to the culture it represents that made it a smash it both critically and financially. The movie feels like it was made with a labor of love as well as excitement and passion to tell this story and to do so in a way which can make the audience see the world from a different perspective and get into their shoes. If that was the intent of making this movie then the filmmakers succeeded as Crazy Rich Asians is nothing short of being fun to watch while making the audience feel good upon leaving the theater. It's truly quite surprising that one of the greatest box office stories of the year so far just happens to be the best romantic comedy of the year. Crazy Rich Asians is the perfect romantic comedy that audiences have been looking for and desire to see.

                                                                                                            Final Verdict: SEE IT

Venom: A Fun Yet Mediocre Origin Story Made Worthwhile By It's Excellent Lead

 

      For most comic book movies, 2018 has proven to be a groundbreaking year for comic book movies with Marvels Black Panther achieving both critical acclaim and box office stature to become the third highest grossing movie ever domestically, Infinity War receiving the same kind of critical and box office acclaim while being a massive improvement over Age Of Ultron, Deadpool ll being a stronger sequel than it's predecessor despite making less money in the end, and Ant Man And The Wasp proving to be the sweet dessert audiences needed after enduring the shocking climax of Infinity War. Fast-forward to October with the fall movie season already getting underway with October having record breaking box office success with Venom and Halloween 2018. There has been much controversy over the release of Venom with many fans desiring for Sony to hand the rights of the character over to Marvel so he can officially join the MCU, and receive a proper origin story along with the short running time and PG-13 rating spelling out disappointment for many fans. What cemented the fears of most Venom fans, was the critical drubbing the film received from critics upon it's release with many criticizing the films story and lack of true impact on the audience in comparison to some of the other comic book movies that came out this year. Having seen the film now, one can say with some reassurance that the film isn't as terrible as the critics made it out to be but it also isn't great either. The film falls in the category of being just okay to borderline decent and it's mainly due to it's exceptionally fantastic star who literally carries the film on his shoulders: Tom Hardy.

       Venom is not the trainwreck it's made out to be but rather a fun yet enjoyable ride, that works mainly because Tom Hardy is a truly awesome actor, who brings the character to life and gives him a level of depth that wasn't present with Topher Grace's Venom in Spiderman 3. Unlike that Venom, Hardy's Venom works and essentially makes the rest of the film worth watching even if the story isn't that great for it. The storyline for Venom centers around an investigative reporter named Eddie Brock played by Tom Hardy, gathering evidence against a corrupt scientist played by Riz Ahmed, who produces symbiotic human/alien creatures. When Brock becomes infected with an extraterrestrial being, he ends up becoming the host for the sinister creature called Venom with his dual personality speaking with two voices and demonstrating superhuman abilities including raging anger that manages to intoxicate the reporter with power. Reading the synopsis for the plot of Venom, it sounds true to the origin story of the character, but also has the audience asking on the back of their minds the question of where is Spiderman. The answer is Tom Holland Spiderman is nowhere to be found with this version of the Venom story focusing on the character of Eddie Brock and his transformation into the comic book super villain/anti-hero that audiences know him to be. This film basically rides on the performance of Tom Hardy, whose both convincing in the part as well as coming across as being rather goofy at times, particularly when he does his split personality as Brock and Venom. Those moments are easily the best of the entire movie and are sure to prompt huge moments of laughter from the audience. Hardy takes what's essentially a generic and bland origin story and makes it a rather enjoyable experience when he becomes Venom. Michelle Williams does a solid job playing Brock's fianc'ee and lawyer for the Life Foundation. Her relationship with Brock becomes more complicated when she is fired by her firm after Eddie reads her email for confidential information in order to confront the films main antagonist Carlton Drake regarding the information. What begins as being a rather generic female comic book character that Williams plays, takes an interesting twist as she becomes the female Venom that comic book fans are familiar with later on in the movie sharing one of the films best moments with Brock. Hardy and Williams are the strongest actors in the film and work hard to give complexity to their characters despite being given a rather bland script.

      On a technical level, the film plays out like a monster horror movie that has all the trimmings and makings of a superhero film with themes such as creating a super-race, extraterrestrials, world domination, crime, justice, courage, and conservation of resources being covered along with traditional superhero themes such as love, helping others, and commitment being incorporated into the films script. The message that Venom despite being sloppy fun that doesn't attempt to take itself too seriously, says that science that is meant to improve humanity can backfire on mankind. For the films main plot, it's neither groundbreaking or terrible, it just comes across as going through the motions for a comic book origin story mixed with a touch of classic monster formula. As far as the films look goes, the special effects are impressive and give Venom a far more appealing look than what Spiderman 3 presented to audiences. The moments in the film where Hardy transforms and becomes the Venom are the best scenes of the movie, delivering both nice visuals as well as laughter for the audience when both personalities clash with each other. Eddie and Venom's relationship are the moments where the film truly comes alive and makes it worth the price of admission alone. Their relationship is done so convincingly well, that one wishes they had their own symbiote latched onto them so they can dwell in similar conversations with their other half, no matter how absurd they become. As far as the films editing, the movie flies at a brisk pace and never feels like its moving slow, but it also doesn't leave enough time for the story to truly expand as well as the side characters and relationships to develop such as Eddie and Anne. The first half of the movie clearly struggles in terms of establishing the story and getting off the ground but once Brock becomes Venom, the movie truly comes to life and takes off with full steam. The CGI for Venom is not groundbreaking by any means, but it still manages to leave an impression with audiences as it looks and feels more like the Venom that fans grew up with both in the comics and 90's Spiderman cartoon that aired on FOX.

      Overall, Venom is not the horrific disaster that critics made it out to be, but it's also not on the same level of awesomeness that other comic book films this year reached such as Marvels Black Panther, Deadpool ll, and Infinity War. It can be argued though that Venom never attempts nor tries to be as epic as those films in regards to storytelling and scope, but rather chooses to tell a more simple yet fun-filled origin story. On that level, Venom succeeds despite having a rather bland and sloppy script that becomes saved through Tom Hardy's performance (That guy can truly act). Venom is not a bad movie but it's also not a great one, it falls somewhere in the middle and serves as being a fun ride but mainly due to the scenes where Brock and Venom share the screen together. Their moments give audiences a glimpse of what the film could've been had the script been stronger, the movie been darker with an R rating, and the running time being two to two and a half hours to allow for more characters and subplots to be further developed. For some fans, they will find themselves longing for these essential things and may end up agreeing with the general consensus from the critics, that the movie is severely lacking in quality compared to other superhero films that came out this year. For other that grew up with Venom, the movie will prove to be a step in the right direction in terms of getting a better version of the anti-hero put on the big screen with the next step being incorporating him into the Marvel Universe (Though I suspect that won't happen until after a sequel with Carnage emerges). Despite it feeling as if the filmmakers held back on showing Venom's craziness with the lack of an R rating and short running time, the movie still provides solid entertainment for the audience along with packs of laughter that's largely thanks to the films main star. It is a true testament to an actors greatness when the main star practically saves what could've been a disastrous origin story in a similar vein to Halle Berry's Catwoman or the 2015 Fantastic Four, and elevates the film to being a fun ride, that manages to just enter the territory of being decent. Here's hoping the script is much better next time and Sony gives the filmmakers more free reign with the sequel since Venom proved to be a huge success. As a standalone origin story, Venom just barely succeeds on its own without it's hero counterpart to stand on the opposite side, it's loud, it's noisy, it's chaotic, but also hilarious and somewhat accomplishes what it set out to do which is to entertain it's audience.

                                                           Final Verdict: SEE IT (But only for Tom Hardy's performance, he makes the movie)

Halloween 2018 Is The True Sequel To The Original

      Note: This review is SPOILER FREE

      The fall 2018 box office season has arrived with horror movies such as the Conjuring spinoff The Nun, making big splashes at the box office, but ultimately prove to be largely disappointing in terms of quality, and comic book movies like Venom breaking the October opening weekend box office record, but failing to generate the praise from critics to equal it's record breaking achievement. For the previous year, horror movies in general have enjoyed an impressive ride both critically and financially at the box office with Stephen Kings IT breaking box office records for September while generating some of the strongest reviews for any horror film released in 2017. Annabelle: Creation also enjoyed a similar performance with it's reviews marking it as being a large improvement over it's predecessor along with Happy Death Day making it's own splash at the Halloween box office season. For 2018, the horror movie genre continued to enjoy the impressive box office success it experienced with A Quiet Place surprising audiences with it's quality along with taking the top spot at the box office. In the case of Halloween, expectations were high for it to deliver on it's promise to be the first real sequel to the franchise in a long time rather than being another embarrassing entry along the lines of Halloween Resurrection. The last time audiences experienced Michael Myers on the big screen was in 2009 with Rob Zombie's horrific sequel to his controversial remake of John Carpenters 1978 classic. With the announcement of Carpenter's involvement in the new Halloween film, fans for the first time in decades found reason to be optimistic again with the popular horror movie franchise, that excitement was further cemented with the return of Jamie Lee Curtis to the role which made her famous and gave her the legendary title of being Scream Queen. Having seen the new Halloween, it can be said with the utmost enthusiasm that the new film not only meets the expectations placed upon it, but largely exceeds them while also managing to be the best entry in the series since the original (And this is coming from someone who loved Halloween ll).

       Halloween 2018 for all intents and purposes lives up to the promise of being a worthy sequel to the original masterpiece set 40 years after the events of the first film with Michael Myers escaping from the institution he's remained at since the events of the first movie, and comes to his final confrontation with Laurie Strode, the young babysitter who narrowly escaped his killing Spree four decades prior on Halloween 1978. What makes this sequel in particular a unique case compared to the one's that came previously, is how it chooses to ignore the other storylines including Halloween ll and H20, both of which played on the idea that Laurie Strode and Michael Myers are bother and sister. That subplot much like the films that played off it are nonexistent now, turning what essentially became a crime of passion into random occurrences as well as acts of confronting one's own worst nightmare. As painful as it is to see the storyline of Halloween ll eliminated as it was the strongest sequel prior to this one, it's omission makes the story as well as the main character terrifying again as he's not bound to chasing after just one person, but everyone can be a target of Michael Myers path of mayhem. Halloween 2018 to put it in blatant terms, literally makes Halloween great again as a franchise. This is easily the best and the scariest of the sequels as well as being the most well-executed in terms of writing and directing with a slick style and mood, that honors the work previously established prior by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. The film not only manages to wipe away the faults of the franchise such as it's messy timelines and lack of true fear and suspense to the storylines, but it also reinforces the belief that was established in the original that Michael Myers is the boogeyman rather than be a zombie like force that can't be killed. Michael is presented as being pure in this installment along with being much older like Laurie, but has not once lost his beat for hunting down and killing his prey. For the first time in years, Michael Myers is a presented as being a force to be feared, making you want to check your house and closets at night before going to bed. He's scary, he's terrifying, he's mysterious, and he's every bit as calculated and unpredictable as he was in the original. Gone is not just the sibling connection but also the nonsense that Rob Zombie added to the characters backstory with Michaels actions being the result of a messed up family. A quote from Wes Cravens Scream best sums up the character of Michael Myers, which basically says that some things are just scarier when there's no motive behind them. Carpenter understood this perfectly with the character and, and that's why removing the brother and sister subplot from the newest sequel was a sad yet bold move, that ultimately proved to be the right call as it made the character into an unpredictable killing machine again. Bringing Nick Castle back to play the part of Michael from the original was such a cool fan service to witness along with James Jude Courtney trying his hand at playing the iconic figure.

      As far as acting goes, Jamie Lee Curtis returns to the role that made her famous and gives her all with an emotional yet compelling performance playing a Sarah Connor type character in which she turns her traumatic experience into a reason to be prepared for the inevitable reunion. Hiding and living in fear of Michael one day escaping from confinement and coming after her, she chooses to be prepared by stockpiling weapons and firearms while basically securing her property with cameras. Much like the Laurie Strode in Halloween H20, who lived in fear of Michael finding her new identity, this version of Laurie Strode takes the aftermath experience of encountering Michael Myers to the extreme with Laurie being more prepared to face Michael after so many years while retaining some of Laurie's traits from H20 such has her alcoholism and children thinking she's over the top paranoid until they encounter Michael Myers for themselves. Whereas Halloween H20 had Laurie Strode as a mother fighting to save her son from a similar fate she barely dodged two decades prior, Halloween 2018 has Laurie as a mother whose nearly burned the bridge between her daughter and granddaughter until Michael returns home and they experience his rampage of terror firsthand turning them into believers. Despite not acknowledging any of the prior sequels to the original, the new sequel borrows elements from the previous films that worked well, particularly H20's elements. Judy Greer gives a strong performance as Laurie's daughter Karen Strode, showing the distant relationship the two keep from each other due to Strode's estranged behavior. Her characters strongest moments come later in the film when she finally see's for herself what her mother has been saying all those years. Will Patton delivers a likeable performance as the sheriff putting two and two together while revealing his own connection to the original murders. Andi Matichak does well playing the non-believing and vulnerable granddaughter of Laurie Strode. The performances as a whole, are among the strongest in the series with Curtis stealing the show and giving a high quality performance as usual. Curtis gives the character of Laurie Strode a level of complexity and a feeling of raw emotion that's often rare to come by these days in horror movies.

      On a technical aspect, David Gordon Green directs this one with a similar style of high energy that Carpenter brought to the original, Keeping the films budget on the low end much like the original works in it's favor in regards to relying on creativity. While not as masterful in regards to building terror and suspense, Green does a fine job of elevating the mood and creating a dark and creepy atmosphere, that makes it feel similar to Carpenters original vision. It is without question that Green is a huge Carpenter fan and studied the original Halloween closely in regards to building up the same style of suspense while not forgetting to have moments of character buildup prior to Michael making his strike. Even if the character moments are minimal and last only a few moments, they are vital as each character Michael kills off is felt by the audience. Green understood that one of the elements that made the murders of the original Halloween so effective, is how fleshed out and developed the characters in the original films were, so when they were killed off, it enhanced the terror behind the killings. Perhaps the films greatest asset as well as being the key to it's success, is the heavy involvement of John Carpenter as Executive Producer along with helping to carve out such an effective music score. This sequel feels like the one Carpenter would've made if he chose to direct a sequel to the first one so many years later, and the music just helps to drive home the terror and suspense of the story. The Cinematography is top notch with the film carrying with it a creepy atmosphere full of nighttime and lights. The film as a whole looks and feels like Halloween, Green does a solid job of drawing the audience into this world again then leaving them with a strong finish.

      For Halloween fans, this wasn't the sequel they asked for, but it became the one that audiences desired since the release of the original. The new Halloween does not disrespect nor dishonor the first movie, but instead wipes the slate clean with the franchise while providing an alternative version of Halloween ll that is set 40 years after the fact. For those who liked Halloween H20 but expected more from it as being a much anticipated sequel to the original, the new film is the sequel that Halloween H20 always wanted to be. Halloween 2018 does a terrific job of repositioning the series back to the standard it one was at while reintroducing the character of Michael Myers for modern audiences. The film throws out everything that isn't apart of the first movie, and chooses to go back to the basics using the typical slasher formula, that still proves to be effective. Halloween 2018 is the sequel that fans of the series have been waiting for and wanted for a long time. For those who grew up with the original Halloween ll and H20, it's sad to see the original sequels be erased from canon, however with the new setup that Blumhouse and Carpenter offer, fans can choose which of the two sequel storylines they prefer to watch after the original film ends. Not every Halloween fan will appreciate the new films erasing of the previous canon and want to stick to the traditional storyline of Michael and Laurie being brother and sister. That's perfectly fine but most of the fans will likely consider this one the true sequel to the original as it's not only the best executed sequel, but it does its very best to recapture some of the suspense and terror of the first movie while building it's own legacy. For Carpenter and the Blumhouse team, this one's a huge win as well as being a nice surprise for audiences. One of the best horror movies of the year thus far, and the best Halloween sequel since the first. It is the film that Halloween H20 despite being entertaining, wishes it was and should've been.

                                                                                                                      Final Verdict: SEE IT

Mission Impossible Fallout Is One Of The Years Best Action Flicks

      As the summer box office season of 2018 draws to a close, the last of the big blockbusters make their reigns as Marvels Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Incredibles ll have come and gone. In a year where comic book movies have heavily dominated the big screen while a Star Wars film unexpectedly flops, the expectations are placed on a 22-year old franchise based on a popular 1960's Spy television show to bring the summer movie season to a strong finish. With Mission Impossible: Fallout, the film proves that the franchise that began in the 1990's is still a huge hit with moviegoers as well as reaffirming Tom Cruise's status as being one of the greatest action stars of all time.

      The Mission Impossible franchise is one of the rare movie series that gets stronger with each installment while managing to top the previous film in terms of spectacle. The first Mission Impossible film directed by Brian De Palma worked as being a mystery Spy thriller/action movie that was boosted by Tom Cruise's mega starpower during the 1990's era. Mission Impossible ll despite being bigger financially was a stepdown in quality. Mission Impossible lll was not only a massive improvement over the second but managed to be more thrilling than the first film largely due to JJ Abrams impressive directorial debut and previous experience with the TV show Alias. Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation continued the upward trend in quality for the Mission Impossible series boasting clever storylines mixed with crazy stunts that managed to outdo the ones in the previous films. With Fallout, the franchise has quite possibly hit it's peak with it's finest installment yet both in terms of storytelling as well as action with Cruise delivering a commanding performance as Ethan Hunt, the Spy that manages to complete the most impossible missions while saving the day.

       The plot for Mission Impossible: Fallout centers around Ethan Hunt and his IMF team combined with familiar allies in the CIA to track and squelch attempts to use nuclear weapons that made it into the black market. Like the other previous installments in the Mission Impossible franchise, Fallout carries many of those films themes over such as death of loved ones, protecting everybody, threat of nuclear weapons, terrorism, betrayal, guilt, anarchy, revenge, and relationships. The message of Fallout that resonates with the entire Mission Impossible franchise as a whole says that one should think of the greater good, a reasoning that defines the character of Ethan Hunt. Written and Directed by Usual Suspects screenwriter and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation helmer, Christopher McQuarrie manages to create a sixth installment in the popular franchise that's fast, sleek, fun, and lives up to expectations of surpassing the previous installment with even crazier set pieces and a storyline that's both exciting and keeps the audience guessing on the plots twists and turns.

      As far as acting goes, Tom Cruise delivers another strong performance as Ethan Hunt further demonstrating that he was born to play the role as well as showing that even in his fifties, he still has what it takes to be an action star that performs the most daring of stunts himself. Henry Cavill does a fine job playing the CIA operative whose assigned to work with Hunt on his mission while providing a contrast to Hunts approach of getting things done. Cavill feels right at home with the rest of Hunt's team which includes Simon Pegg delivering a strong supporting role as well as returning faces such as Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin, Rebecca Ferguson, and Sean Harris playing both friends and foes of Ethan Hunt. New additions to the cast such as Angela Basset and Henry Cavill leave strong impressions with the audience as their characters are effective with the actors making them believable. With the ensemble cast, Fallout has everyone giving their all while showing them to be having fun with the storyline presented while remaining professional. The stunts in Mission Impossible are only as amazing as the actors and characters that sell them, and thankfully with Fallout, Christopher McQuarrie understands that with his strong writing and directing. Having previously worked with Tom Cruise on the Jack Reacher films, McQuarrie understands Cruise's style as an actor as well as his dedication to his craft, and writes the character of Ethan Hunt so effectively in Fallout. With Ethan, there is a sense of detachment to his character that makes him a tragic figure in a sense that he went through a great deal of loss and sacrifice during his previous missions to ensure that the world is safer while completing his job. Though he happens to succeed everytime, it doesn't come without a price and Cruise conveys that beeautifully through his performance adding emotion to the story,

      On a technological note, Mission Impossible: Fallout boasts impressive fight sequences as well as impressive action set-pieces such as a Sky diving sequence in the film along with a solid motorcycle chase, and a climactic helicopter chase sequence that's both exciting and thrilling. The editing of the film gives the movie a brisk pace making it move fairly quick without rushing the storyline nor shortchanging the character development. As an action film, Fallout remains consistent while pushing the boundaries of its thrilling set-pieces almost to the point of absurdity, making the film properly warrant the name "impossible". What makes the Mission Impossible series thrive and improve over the years is how the series blends the feel of a James Bond movie with an added touch of Fast And Furious with the team working together to complete a mission that comes with crazy stunts that become the films main centerpiece. Like those series, the Mission Impossible franchise has learned to adapt and maintain the audiences interest over the last few decades while managing to feel fresh and retaining its energy.

      As far as this years summer blockbusters go, Mission Impossible: Fallout is not only one of the best popcorn flicks of the summer but is also one of the best movies of the year. The film is brilliant, well-written, wonderfully acted by it's main cast, remains consistent with it's action until the end, and
manages to raise the bar up another notch for the series as a whole. Tom Cruise once again shows audiences that regardless of how they feel about his personal antics off screen, he's still one of the worlds greatest movie stars as well as one of the most dedicated actors to ever grace the big screen. Fallout shows that just when you thought the series had reached it's peak and couldn't get anymore incredible nor amazing, Fallout comes and shows how it should be done. As for the future of the Mission Impossible series, there is still life left in this franchise to tell more Spy stories involving Ethan Hunt performing another crazy stunt but one also feels that perhaps they should consider quitting while their ahead as they don't want to wear out their welcome with the audience. While that is a different type of discussion, Mission Impossible: Fallout remains one of the summers biggest highlights while being one of the films that brings it to a satisfying close. For Spy fans and fans of the Mission Impossible series, this film is a real treat and until it's topped by the next film, this is the franchises highest point thus far. Mission Impossible: Fallout is a must see.

                                                                                                                       Final Verdict: SEE IT

   

A Quiet Place Is The Years Most Breakthrough Horror Flick

      In a year where the most dominating movies at the box office happen to all be comic book films, it's nice to see a smaller budget film that's ambitious and totally confident in it's storytelling abilities breakout and become a success of its own both commercially and exceeding expectations in terms of how good it can be. A Quiet Place happens to be one of the years breakthrough hits and is sure to end up being one of 2018's greatest success when the year draws to a close. Easily the most successful horror film since last years IT, A Quiet Place is a horror flick that not only is entertaining to watch but surprises on many levels with how well done and crafted it is. It's nice to see a horror film come around that exercises both brilliance and creativity while showing an actors true talent both as the star of the film as well as being the director  and co-scriptwriter with John Krasinski hitting a home run with A Quiet Place.

      A Quiet Place is a horror film that's exciting from start go finish while moving at a brisk pace while allowing you to be drawn into the films nightmarish world while becoming emotionally invested in it's characters. A Quiet Place is a combination of films such as 10 Cloverfield Lane mixed with a touch of Signs mixed with The Road with all three influences morphing into it's own story that deserves major points for creativity, imagination, brilliance, cleverness, and ultimately managing to be surprising to the audience with it's twist and turns. The story for A Quiet Place takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where a family is forced to live in silence while hiding from monsters with ultra-sensitive hearing. The concept of a creature with extra special hearing searching for people while forcing them to use sigh language to communicate is both an original and genius concept that actually manages to bring something new to the horror genre. While it can be argued that the post-apocalyptic aspect of the story is a tad familiar to audiences as it's been done before with numerous other movies, A Quiet Place takes an already familiar setting yet delivers an engaging twist to the genre while allowing it's cast and filmmakers to rise to the occasion with their creative skills. John Krasinski shows audiences that there is much more to him than just a comedic actor and can actually craft a striking horror film that makes the audience think while placing them in the scenario presented in the story.

      As far as performances go, Krasinski is terrific here as he shows a great deal of emotional depth to his role as a father both dealing with grief while trying to protect his family from the outside forces pursuing them. Emily Blunt is terrific in the role of the wife and mother also dealing with grief and struggling to keep her family together while dealing with her pregnancy. The young child actors deliver strong performances bringing both believability to their roles while making you care about their safety during scenes where they come into contact with the creature. The films opening sequence beautifully sets up the tone for the rest of the film establishing the post-apocalyptic nature of the story as well as the silent family sticking together while being forced to communicate through sigh language, and the opening sequence ending with a shocking revelation that commands the audiences attention by the time the main title appears.

       In terms of writing and directing, John Kransinski writes the film beautifully in a way where not too much information is given about the backstory of the family nor what's happening, he gives the audience just enough information through news clippings and selected dialogue to make everything clear while forcing the audience to never take their eyes off the screen when the actors communicate through silent language. Such a move would normally prove to be a risky one by Hollywood's standards but here it's presented in a way that it's essential to the storyline and is done exceptionally well showcasing brilliance on the filmmakers end as well as their firm grip on the story. The films Cinematography and Art-Set Decoration is effective enough to convince the audience that the world their seeing has been overrun by monsters with enhanced hearing making the scenario both frightening and never tiresome to watch. The best thing that can be said about this film outside of it's stellar performances and solid production values, is the level of brains and intelligence that was poured into telling this story. What could've easily ended up being another generic horror film or been there and done that post-apocalyptic tale turns out to be that of a pleasant surprise that shows the horror genre still has some tricks up it's sleeve while being inspirational to other filmmakers in showing that creativity is not fully absent just yet.

       In an era where most breakthrough films or blockbusters are normally sequels, comic book movies, and franchises, it's nice to see a film with a reasonably creative concept with a healthy dose of originality take the center stage in showing that there is still room for smaller stories that can have a significant impact on it's audience long after the credits roll. Despite the movie being only 90 mins, the film does a very good job of pulling the audience into this world and bringing them along the journey this helpless family endures while making them become invested with them while generating some solid squares and suspense. The creatures intelligent feature is a clever twist with the family forced into being silent proving to be an ingenius twist that is done exceptionally well. A Quiet Place is a horror take that's beautifully written, directed, and acted in a way that makes it feel artfully done. Whereas most horror movies in today's generation rely on jump scares and gore, A Quiet Place shows that you don't need those elements to make a movie scary and sometimes the silence of the moment can genuinely be just as creepy or more. The film is a triumph in the sense that it successfully manages to make the audience care about the characters while making the story both tense and exciting to audiences despite the lack of dialogue. Easily one of the years best films thus far and could actually be good enough to warrant some attention come awards time. For horror fans and audiences, it's the films originality and level of thoughtfulness that went into making it that makes it a unique yet special experience for them. Hopefully the talent that John Kransinski brings to the table with this film both infront and behind the camera will encourage other actors and filmmakers you would least expect to test and discover their own potential.

                                                                                                                     Final Verdict: See It